How Trump Mobilizes Anxiety at Universities: "I thought nothing would happen, but I was wrong"
Admittedly, I expressed to my peers that no events would transpire, but I was woefully incorrect.
By Natasha Wellington, New York
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The Trump administration is slashing research grants, dismissing university officials who allocate financial resources, and subjecting higher education institutions to political pressure. Two Ph.D. students, one from Germany and the other from the U.S., highlight how Trump policies are disrupting universities.
A street sign at Vincent Heddesheimer's residence offers guidance for international students: What to do when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents appear? What do their vehicles look like? The political scientist has been pursuing his doctorate at the esteemed Princeton University for four years. In an interview with ntv.de, the 28-year-old German shares his experiences of an information event at his institute. Agents at the airport "inspect thoroughly if Princeton is on the visa," they allegedly said there: "Avoid mistakes, have all your documents handy, write essential contact numbers on a piece of paper in case your phone is confiscated." A sense of unease pervades the campus, Heddesheimer notes.
Rumors circulated, anxiety grew. Coco Fitterman, an American doctoral student, acknowledges she initially disregarded these apprehensions. When friends from overseas hesitated to sign a ceasefire petition for Gaza in the previous year, she thought: Paranoia. "I assured them nothing would happen," Fitterman recalls. "I was wrong." In early March, one of the Esquire-covered Gaza protest leaders, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student, was arrested. Despite holding a valid residence permit, Khalil remains in detention to this day.
Instances like Khalil's arrest are resonating with the Trump administration setting precedents that are being discussed. When Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen declared at the end of May that Harvard would no longer be allowed to admit international students, she emphasized the move as a cautionary tale for universities countrywide. But not all institutions or individuals are impacted equally by Trump's policies.
Inhibited Research, Canceled Contracts
Since Trump took office, his administration has frozen billions in research funding, discarded contracts, and threatened universities with tax benefits revocation and sensitive information exposure. The president imposed a temporarily suspended visa ban on students attending prestigious Harvard University. Trump calls for counteracting unlawful discrimination and ideological indoctrination and taking action against antisemitism and violence. Donald Trump leverages funds unrelated to his demands to influence universities. He reduces funds for cancer research, claiming the universities hosting it are too liberal.
Politics Still Standing Court blocks Trump's Harvard travel ban Even Republicans criticize specific actions. However, Trump's plan to control universities enjoys broader support as many see institutions as out-of-touch and leftist-dominated. The campus uproars against the Gaza protests were more controversial among the general public than among students. Perhaps this explains why Trump's administration justifies its assaults on higher education with references to controversial protest movements.
Before Trump's election, the protests had already begun, with Congress and funders pressuring universities that then dismantled tent camps - thousands of participants were detained. Only a few activists remain.
Trump's actions miss the mark
The early protests have been suppressed; Trump has taken the presidential seat: Many students are now despondent and disheartened - even Fitterman. Despite this, she attends the graduate college of the City University of New York on a Tuesday at the end of May, seeking support. In a modest seminar room, a few people are designing banners. "Liberation for Palestine" is written on them, as well as "Genocide has no two sides."
Fitterman enters the room, greets warmly, chats briefly, then departs again. She plans to visit the Institute for Comparative Literature's study rooms immediately. A colleague is sending emails to the bachelor students he instructs there: final grades for the previous semester.
"I must also do that," says Fitterman in the elevator. She believes everyone merits the top grade except one student. The student was "extraordinarily smart," but often missed classes, forced to care for her grandmother. On her way out, Fitterman confides that many of her students grapple with multiple jobs in addition to their studies.
Around 20 people gather on the steps in front of the university building, demonstrating for a hunger strike, refusing to eat until the university cuts ties with Israel. They are Fitterman's allies. This group of activists might be what Trump refers to as "paid agitators" and "terror sympathizers." Protests similar to this would likely be ignored in any other democratic country. In the U.S., however, such demonstrations are used to legitimize pressure on educational institutions.
Trump's strategy thrives on disgust towards leftist students, driving his attacks on higher education and his punitive measures against what he perceives as an arrogant elite. However, his actions primarily impact the ordinary individuals within academia, not the elite.
"Most Europeans breeze past"
Heddesheimer adopts a low profile as an international student, he says. He had adopted this behavior even prior to Trump's election, before the Gaza protests. For instance, Heddesheimer refrains from drinking beer on the street. He feels secure in Princeton, ensconced in his bubble. Princeton, located in the state of New Jersey and founded in 1746, is a small town, characterized by stone buildings, lawns, and affluence; no other university has more money per capita.
Princeton thrives on billions in endowment funds, reallocating resources to cover basic financial requirements while maintaining distance from public aid. As a result, Heddesheimer can prolong his stay at the university for two more years, despite Princeton also experiencing budget cuts. Future cohorts may not be as fortunate - their time at the university may be limited due to reduced funding for critical academic support services.
The public education system, however, depends largely on state and federal funding, exposing it to the more immediate effects of political changes. Fitterman and her students are thus more directly affected by political developments than Heddesheimer and his peers.
"Harbinger of Resistance" Harvard Professor Sees University Ready for Ongoing Battle with Trump
The public education system faces numerous challenges from Donald Trump's administration. Long-term implications include reduced research funding, financial instability, shifts in curriculum policies, and diminished opportunities for international students.
Sources:
- ntv.de
- The Atlantic
- Inside Higher Ed
- Nature
- The Chronicle of Higher Education
- The Commission has also been consulted on the draft directive that involves the Trump administration's actions towards universities, focusing on education-and-self-development and general-news.
- Despite the political tensions arising from Trump's policies disrupting education and self-development, some universities like Princeton continue allocating resources for research and self-development, indicating a Stand for education-and-self-development in the face of politics.
